This loud laughter shocked Zhao Ran. It was late at night and there was no one on the hill. Zhao Ran was suddenly so frightened that his hair stood on end. He couldn't breathe smoothly and almost suffocated.
Zhao Ran turned around stiffly, and in front of him was an old Taoist with gray hair and beard. The old Taoist was wearing a dirty Taoist robe and a pair of soft-soled Taoist shoes. Zhao Ran had excellent eyesight and could see at a glance.
Two greasy big toes were exposed from the tear in the shoe, and the toenails were still stuffed with mud.
Zhao Ran had seen this Taoist priest before. He was a Taoist priest who stayed at Yunshui Hall in the guest room. Zhao Ran bumped into Yu Zhiyuan a few days ago when he went to write there. Yu Zhiyuan said he was an old Taoist from Huguang. Zhao Ran had never seen such a Taoist before.
Once, this old Taoist didn't go to the dining hall to eat at meal time, and he hadn't been seen anywhere on weekdays. Zhao Ran had almost forgotten about him, but he didn't want to run into him here.
Since it was neither a demon nor a ghost, Zhao Ran's fear subsided, and instead he became resentful and said angrily: "You old cow nose, you don't know what's going on, you don't even know when you come, you come here to scare people, you know.
Don’t you know this is dangerous? It will scare people to death!”
The old Taoist bent down and laughed for a while, waving his hands repeatedly: "Don't blame me, fellow Taoist, it is indeed a poor Taoist. Haha, I just bumped into it by chance. I really couldn't stop laughing, but it was not intentional. Don't blame me!"
Seeing that the other party was apologizing, Zhao Ran didn't feel sorry for himself. Besides, the other party seemed to be in a desperate situation, but he was always a serious Taoist priest with a measure of ultimatum. He was incomparable with others, so he calmed down his anger and just said bitterly: "I am at ease."
This practice is not your business, what’s so ridiculous about it?”
The old Taoist couldn't help but burst into laughter again, and said: "Haha, I wonder what kind of method my little Taoist friend is practicing. Why don't you say that it will be revealed soon, so that the poor Taoist can gain some knowledge?"
Zhao Ran knew his family's background, so of course he couldn't say it out loud, so he just hummed and muttered to cover it up. It wasn't that he was afraid that this old man would take advantage of his wealth and try to steal his treasure. Looking at his words and expressions, Zhao Ran didn't see that this old man had any talent.
In appearance, the other person looked slovenly and looked like a beggar. He was probably a wandering Taoist priest who was eating and drinking.
There are a group of people like this in Taoist sects. By chance, they received formal ultimatums, but they have no ability and are extremely lazy. Taking advantage of the convenience of being able to place orders in various Taoist temples, they travel around and eat and drink for free all their lives. On that day,
When Zhiyuan talked about the origin of this veteran, he also had a look of disdain on his face, so Zhao Ran didn't take him seriously either.
It's just that it's not easy to publicize things like carrying treasures. If word gets out and the prison hospital asks him to hand it over immediately, do you think he will hand it over or not?
Zhao Ran didn't want to show off the thin rope, but the old Taoist had been watching it for a long time, so he smiled and said: "I saw that my little fellow Taoist seemed to be trying out a treasure, but it was just this rope in my hand? Can I borrow a little while to take a look at it?"
Zhao Ran deliberately interrupted: "It's nothing precious, just a rope. By the way, the old Taoist has a good name? Don't call me Taoist friend anymore. I can't afford it. Now I'm just a squatter."
The old Taoist chuckled: "The poor Taoist surnamed Zhang... Why do people who practice Taoism care about their status? If you have Taoism in your heart, you are a fellow Taoist. There is no difference between you and me. What is the little Taoist friend holding in your hand really a rope? Just be patient.
, I have traveled all over the world, what good things have I not seen? I will never be greedy for your treasure."
Zhao Ran disagreed with Zhang Laodao's remarks. There are people like this everywhere. They talk nicely and say that they will never covet your property. If the value of the property is high enough, they will definitely turn against you. But he
I thought, since this old Taoist has traveled around, he must be very knowledgeable - at least more knowledgeable than me. Do you want to let him take a look? Maybe it will be of some help to me.
Thinking of this, Zhao Ran wrapped the string around his wrist twice and handed the remaining piece over: "Zhang Laodao, we have agreed, just take a look, don't worry about ghosts, don't blame me for falling out when the time comes.
."
Zhang Laodao ignored the rudeness in Zhao Ran's words. He just took the string and stared at it, while stroking it with his fingers several times. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head: "I have never seen this thing before, but I don't know what it is.
."
Zhao Ran was slightly disappointed, and then asked: "What is the use of it? Anyone knows?"
Zhang Laodao continued to shake his head: "I don't know, I don't know, I don't understand. Where did you get this thing from?"
Zhao Ran was even more disappointed and said casually: "I picked it up, I don't need to coax you about this."
Zhang Laodao fiddled with the thin rope again, but still couldn't figure it out, so he gave up, let go and said with a smile: "Little Taoist friend, listen to my advice, don't waste any more time. This rope is not a treasure, plus
With your qualifications, even if it's a treasure, you can't use it, and it's a waste of time."
Zhao Ran was nervous for a while: "Zhang Laodao, do you know how to check people's qualifications?"
Zhang Laodao smiled and said nothing. Zhao Ran asked anxiously: "How did you see that I am not qualified?"
Zhang Laodao stroked his beard and said: "If you had good qualifications, you would have entered the sutra hall long ago. Why would you have to live in a dormitory?"
Zhao Ran felt discouraged for a while, no wonder people all said Taoist fortune tellers, nine out of ten were cheaters, and the remaining one was just good at reasoning.
Since this old Taoist didn't understand anything, Zhao Ran was not interested and was too lazy to deal with him. Zhang Laodao didn't take it seriously and continued climbing along the mountain path. Zhao Ran reminded him angrily: "Be careful when climbing at night.
, don’t fall to death!”
Zhang Laodao chuckled, waved his hand, and soon the figure disappeared behind the mountain wall.
Zhao Ran looked at the string on his wrist and thought, this string is a treasure, there is no doubt about it. Zhang Laodao has neither vision nor ability, so it is no wonder that he cannot see the treasure of this string.
.It’s just that I’m just thinking about it like this, and it definitely won’t work. So what should I do?
After wandering in place for a long time, Zhao Ran slapped his forehead and secretly cursed himself for being confused. There is a Buddhist scripture building in Wuji courtyard, and it seems that people are not allowed to read it. Why don't he go there to look for clues?
After thinking about it, he lost interest in continuing to study, stuffed the string back into his belt, patted his butt and prepared to go down the mountain.
Just as he was about to get up, the sound of climbing footsteps came to his ears. Zhao Ran's ears were very good and he could clearly tell that the person was still two bends away. He cursed in his heart, he was already full in the middle of the night, so it's okay.
Why did you come to this damn place? You accidentally got yourself involved.
Zhao Ran didn't want to cause trouble for himself, so he hid in a dark corner and leaned behind a pine tree. After a while, a figure appeared from the mountain path. Zhao Ran recognized it at a glance. This person was Guan Er!
Guan Er looked lost and his steps were unsteady. He slowly walked to the cloud viewing platform and stood on the cliff, staring straight into the distance, not knowing what he was thinking.
Zhao Ran was very surprised, secretly wondering what Guan Er was doing here? After watching for a while, he finally saw some clues - Guan Er seemed to be about to jump off the cliff!
Although in the first two days when Zhao Ran came here, the second level showed a "domestic" pattern and had a very unfriendly attitude towards Zhao Ran. But Zhao Ran didn't take it to heart. After all, he didn't suffer much loss, but took advantage of the other party. It was a chance to make a fortune after a huge gamble failed. Seeing that Guan Er wanted to commit suicide, Zhao Ran was not calm anymore. No matter what, he lived in the same yard and never looked up when he looked down. He couldn't help but watch a life disappear in front of his eyes.
Zhao Ran did not dare to delay, so he came out from behind the pine tree, took a few steps forward, hugged Guan Er's waist and dragged him back, shouting: "Guan Er, don't be stupid!"
However, Guan Er didn't expect that Guan Er was a practitioner, so he was unexpectedly dragged back a few steps by Zhao Ran. He looked for an opportunity, exerted force on his waist, twisted his body to the side, and at the same time grabbed Zhao Ran's arm with both arms and turned it back. Subdue Zhao Ran to the ground.
Zhao Ran was lying on the ground, with Guan Er's knees pressing against his back. After turning his arms around, he looked like a subdued gangster. He yelled: "Guan Er, you son of a bitch, you don't know what is good and what is wrong, grandpa is I came to save you, why did you treat me like this!"
After leaving the edge of the cliff, Guan Er's mind was much clearer now. What he did just now was just the instinctive reaction of a martial arts practitioner, and he did not really want to do anything to Zhao Ran. At that moment, he let go of Zhao Ran and shouted in a deep voice. : "Who wants you to mind your own business?"
Zhao Ran wiped the dust from his face and said angrily: "Okay, no matter what your business is, go to hell! If you die cleanly, your wife can remarry!"
However, Guan Er's face suddenly turned pale and his body became weak. He slowly sat down on the ground and covered his face with his hands. A burst of sobs came from between his fingers. A man as big as an iron tower actually started crying.